IDENTIFICATION O F CATENARY HARMONICS IN 3kV DC RAILWAY TRACTION SYSTEMS P.C. Coles*, M. Fracchia**, R.J. Hill*, P. Pozzobon** and A.

Szelag***

* School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, England ** Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica, UniversitA degli Studi di Genova, Via all'operaPia 1la, 16145 Genova,

***

Mia Politechnika Warszawska, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Institute of Electrical Machines, pl. Politechniki 1, 00-661 Warszawa, Poland

Abstract - An accurate, frequency-dependent tail track and traction line feeding impedance model for an overhead catenary electrified railway is described. The model is based on the track self and mutual impedances and admittances which are represented by discretecomponent electrical circuit networks. Verification for accuracy is demonstrated by comparing the model track feeding impedance with reference data. The track model is used in a time-domain simulation of a DC traction network with a 12-pulse rectifier substation and a power electronic controlled traction drive to investigate the distribution 6f traction system current harmonics in the catenary, rails and ground. INTRODUCTION

COUPLED LINE RAIL TRACK AND TRACTION LINE MODEL Rail track is used for the transmission of both signal and traction power currents. Its electrical equivalent circuit must thus be able to model various current and voltage excitation and loading conditions. The distributed and diffuse nature of rail track leads to the use of an earth-return distributed transmission line model (Fig. l), since the traction system in essence consists of a number of electrical conductors laid on the surface of a weakly conducting earth.
Mutual admittance Fall 1

currents

lnpeda"C.3

nutual

Identification of the frequency and amplitude of harmonics in railway traction systems arising from the use of power electronic controlled substations and traction drives is important to minimise signalling system interference and to satisfy overvoltage and overcurrent specifications at the substation and locomotive pantograph terminals. Bccausc of thc difficulty of making practical measurements, pi-cliniinary assessmcnt of the distribution of harmonics within a railway traction System is usually made by simulation. Time-domain simulation is a powcrful technique but the frequency dependency of thc track impcdance is a significant difficulty that can lead to erroneous rcsults. The problems addressed in this paper are to provide an accuratc frcqucncy-dependent model for the traction network impcdancc and to usc that modcl i n a time-domain simulation to find the distribution of harmonics in the overhead catenary, rails and ground in a typical DC clectnc railwiiy traction system. The prcscncc of harmonics in traction systems can lead to possible malfunction of signalling and communications systems due to electromagnetic interfcrcncc from power clcctronic controlled substations and traction dri\.cs. MiKing of currents from the traction power and track signalling systcms takes place in the running rails, and since these track currents have a aide frequency content, knowledge of the frequcncy dependency of the track impedance is essential. A further problem relates to thc control of overvoltage and overcurrent in the traction line from system resonances, The track, traction lines, substation and locomotive filters form a complex distributed circuit which may receive excitation from harmonics produced by the substation and locomotive converter drives. Harmonic propagation studies have previously been reported using simple models for track impedance [I]. Considering only the loop impedance, however, gives a poor representation of the track since differential rail currents cannot be modelled because the presence of the ground is ignored. A ground-return transmission line model is a better approach, with time-domain solution by simulation possible [ 2 ] . T o be realistic, however, the frequency dependency of the traction line must be taken into account. This paper presents a component-based rail track impedance model using a linear circuit to give an accurate frequency-dependent representation of the line self and mutual impedances. The model is suitable for use in time domain simulation and has been applied to Eh4TP simulation of a 3 kV DC rail traction system with a rectifier substation feeding an inverter vehicle drive through a frequencydependent track section. Results are presented for the catenary, rail and ground currents in both the time and frequency domains.

Fall 2 Rall 3 Self adrmttance

RBmOte ground

Fig. I . Rail track as a coupled narwnissiori line

The distance-dependent phase voltage and line current vectors are related by the system impedance and admittance matrices through the equations:

a =ZI [ [I1
dx and dx
=

(1)
(2)

[Yl[VI

where IVl & I1 are column vectors of the individual line voltages and currents, and'[,] & [Y] are the impedance and admittance matrices. The remote ground is the absolute reference potential but is physically inaccessible. Equations (1) and (2) represent a coupled set which may be combined to form the transmission line wave equations which, with appropriate boundary conditions, are the basis of the track transmission line model. The equation system may be solved by a number of numerical techniques including time-domain simulation. The inaccessibility of the remote ground makes the impedance and admittance component data difficult to measure accurately. There are also significant difficulties in defining the material electrical . properties of the track structure and there are unknown environmental effects. In particular, the running rails are difficult to model because they have irregular shape and are made of ferrous material, and the ground is a continuum with electrical conductivity and permittivity that can vary with depth, frequency and environment. Typical values for the self and mutual impedance and admittance have been used for the models which have been previously obtained by a variety of measurement and modelling techniques [3] and are pertinent to a wellmaintained track.

0-7803-1772-6/94/$3.00

-0

1994 IEEE

825

FREQUENCY-DEPENDENT RAIL TRACK IMPEDANCE MODEL To use the coupled line track model as part of a time domain simulation, a component-based equivalent circuit model representing unit track length is necessary.

Table 2. Circuit model valuesfor self and mutual admiltames

Capacitance

Conductance

Track itiipedatice tiwdelliiig

The self and mutual impedances in the coupled line track model of Fig. 1 vary with frequency. The resistance components increase and the inductance components decrease with increasing frequency due to the skin effect in the rails and the electrically conducting ground. At DC, there is no mutual resistance between any of the conductors and the running and catenary self resistances are equal to the DC values. It is possible to model the variations in resistance and inductance with the circuit of Fig. 2 by choosing appropriate values for each model component since the resistance increases and the inductance decreases with frequency according to

y le Y k =Y k Ym12= Ym13
y 2 m3

11.6 nF/km

1.144 pFlkm
0.191 nFlkm 0.127 pF/km

0.98 mS/km 0.51 mS/km

Track uhnittunce maklling

The catenary self and catenary-rail mutual admittances are purely capacitive and are constant with frequency. The rail self and rail-rail mutual admittances, however, contain conductance as well as susceptance with, in general, decreasing capacitance and increasing conductance with increasing frequency. Because these admittances also show considerable variations from environmental effects, particularly from the ground moisture content, they are usually represented with constant components and parametric studies made. In time-domain simulation, values for the equivalent physical components are required instead of the admittance matrix coefficients 141. The values used are shown in Table 2 and represent typical data valid at a frequency of 1 kHz.

The six circuit component values in Equations (3) and (4) may be determined by solving six simultaneous nonlinear equations which can be generated from an exact fit between the given reference impedance data and the equivalent circuit impedances at three frequency points. Numerical solution is necessary and a suitable technique exploits Newton-Raphson iteration through the compilation of a Jacobian matrix of partial derivatives with respect to each model component for the functions R(w) and MO).
R1

A FREQUENCY-DEPENDENT CATENARY FEEDING CIRCUIT MODEL FOR TIME-DOMAIN SIMULATION A practical traction network must combine the models of self & mutual impedance and admittance as a feeding circuit with appropriate excitation and loading boundary conditions. For the study of traction harmonic propagation, the model must account for currents flowing along the catenary between the substation and traction vehicle and retuming through the running rails and ground. Although a singlephase track transmission line is sufficient for the evaluation of catenary resonance conditions and pantograph overvoltages alone (21, a three-wire-plus-earth track transmission line is necesary for more comprehensive work. The track model shown in Fig. 3 includes a number of unit length feeding impedance and admittance sections which can be cascaded to form any length of traction line. Each impedance component is modelled by the circuit of Fig. 2, so the complete frequency-dependent impedance section consists of 30 components with the fixed-frequency admittance section having only nine components. The frequen$-dependent impedance models each have a specific error tolerance, so their combined accuracy when used in the feeding impedance mod 1 has been verified by evaluating the short-circuit catenary-to-rail[ feeding impedance. This can be expressed algebraically as:

11

12

Fig. 2. Circuit model for track nonlinear self and mutual impedances
The accuracy of the fit over specific parts of the frequency range of interest depends on the choice of the three frequencies. For harmonic propagation studies in DC railways, it is most important that the fit is accurate in the range DC to 100 Hz and also around the mid-audio range used by track signalling systems. Table 1 gives the component values selected to model an overhead-catenary electrified track. Since the running rails are symmetric, they have equal self impedances and the mutual impedances between the catenary and each running rail are also the same. Comparisons between the reference impedance data and each of the component models confirm the model accuracy up to 30 kHz.

Table 1. Circuit model valuesfor self and mutual impedances

Fig. 4 compares the feeding resistance and inductance evaluated using Equation (5)with reference impedance data with those obtained using the variable-frequency component models of the form shown in Fig. 2 and the feeding impedance model of Fig. 3. The components chosen for. the individual models give close correspondence. It is instructive to compare the new frequency-dependent feeding impedance model with a fixed frequency model. For DC networks, it is necessary to use DC data for the latter to obtain correct DC power flows along the catenary. Fig. 5 shows that the percentage error in the new model compared with the reference value is less than 5% for inductance and 10% for resistance up to 30 kHz. The use of a fixedfrequency track model valid for DC conditions would give these errors at much lower frequencies.

Rs
RI
L1

0.0657 1.35 0.03 0.4

0.028
6.0

R2
L2

20.0 0.3

2.8 3.8 90.0

1.2

0 0.4 0.5 0.4

0 4.5 90.0

Qlkm

mWkm

12.0 0.3

Q/km
mH/km Qlkm

1.2

mH/km

826

Fig. 3. Traction system model for evaluation of Noise interference in an electric rail network

SIMULATION OF TRACTION NOISE INTERFERENCE IN A DC RAIL TRACTION SYSTEM

Traction interference
Interference from traction noise in the power and audio frequency ranges can arise from:

- Conductive interference, where traction and signalling currents share the same physical path so that voltages from one circuit appear directly in the other.

- Inductive interference, where changing magnetic flux from one circuit cuts the conductors of another, thus inducing LmdI/dt voltages in the second circuit. - Electrostatic interference, where capacitive dividers inherent in the track admittance cause CmdI/dt voltages from charging and discharging to appear in circuits in close proximity.

Im -

.. . - .

Interference simulation
A 3 kV DC catenary /supplied traction system has been simulated using the EMTP time-do ain simulation package. The complete traction system model is s h k n in Fig. 3 and consists of a rectifier substation, frequency-dependent line and traction noise source [2]. Rectifier substation: The 12-pulse rectifier substation comprises a balanced three-phase source supplying a series connected bridge rectifier [5]. The harmonics produced from the substation are mainly a function of the overlap in the rectifiers which are determined by the E load current and the ttl load impedance. oa Track section: The 3 km section of frequency-dependent traction line is composed of 1 km track impedance and admittance unit length sections as described above, with a dependent voltage source used for the inter-line mutual impedances. The rails are connected together at section boundaries every 1 km to represent traction bonds. Traction noise source: This is a neutral point clamped (NE)inverter traction drive as used in 3 kV DC traction systems [6]. System simulations were performed in order to determine the frequency content of the catenary, rail and ground currents. The results, shown in Fig. 6 , indicate that at high frequencies, the high track impedance and ground admittance cause higher-order harmonics to return to the substation through the ground rather than the rails. In a practical situation, this would have adverse implications for electromagnetic interference mitigation.

I,

Fig. 5. Error infeeding resistance and inductancefor variablefrequency model (solid) and fixed-frequency model (broken lines)

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s c

450

49 4

31

441
446 2

4
ais
01 .9 Timc [SI 015 .9
0.2

i o
-1

01 .8

01 .8

0.185

Time [I]

T m [SI ie

01 .9

01s .9

02 .

2 l
Frequency [HzJ Frequency [Hz]

m
Frequency [HzJ

Fig. 6. Simulation of electromagneticinterference on DC-fed catenary electrijied railway. &J: cafenarycurrent;cenlre: rail current;right: earth currenl

CONCLUDING REMARKS An electrical component based model has been described for the frequency-dependent self and mutual impedances of a coupled line representation of a railway traction network. The model has been applied to catenary system feeding impedance and verified by comparison with reference data. It is accurate to within 5% in the frequency range DC to 30 kHz. A catenary system feeding impedance model, together with a fixed-frequency track admittance model, has been incorporated in a time-domain simulation of a 3 kV DC traction system including a rectifier substation and inverter traction drive noise source. The simulation was run using EMTP and produced information about the distribution of harmonics in the catenary, rail and ground currents within the network. Further work is aimed at frequency-dependent self and mutual track admittance modelling and enhancement of the accuracy of track data.

REFERENCES J. Holtz and H.-J. Klein, The propagation of harmonic currents generated by inverter-fed locomotives in the distributed overhead supply system, IEEE Transactom on Power Electronics, Vol. PE-4, NO. 2, pp. 168-174, April 1989. P.C. Coles, M. Fracchia, R.J. Hill, P. Pozzobon and G. Sciutto, Modelling and simulation of supply current interference in traction systems arising from multi-level converters in high-power locomotive drives, Proc. o/ 5th European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications, Brighton UK, 13-16 September 1993, v. 7 , pp. 24-28. R.J. Hill and D.C. Carpenter, Rail track distributed transmission line impedance and admittance: theoretical modeling and experimental results, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, vol. VT-42, no. 2, pp. 225-241, May 1993. R.J. Hill and D.C. Carpenter, In-situ determination of rail track electrical impedance and admittance matrix elements, IEEE Transactionson Instrumentation and Measurement, v. IM-41, n. 5, pp. 666-673, October 1992. M. Mazzucchelli, P. Pozzobon and G. Sciutto, Rectifier dynamic models for short circuit transient analysis in DC metrorail systems, Proc. of 3rd International Conference on Computer Aided Design, Manufacture and Operation in the Railway and other Advanced Mass Transit Systems, Washington DC, 18-20 August 1992, vol. 2, pp.16-25. M. Carpita, S . Tenconi and M. Fracchia, A novel multilevel structure for voltage source inverter, Proc. of 4th European Power Electronics Conference, Firenze, 3-6 September 1993, vol. 1, pp. 90-94.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS T h e authors acknowledge the provision of a British Counci1lM.U.R.S.T. collaborative research grant. Dr Hill is also grateful to the UK SERC for research grant #GWW18920. Dr Szelag acknowledges the Royal Society of London for a Visiting Feilowship to the University of Bath.

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